Iowa: Both Chambers Pass Right to Keep and Bear Arms Constitutional Amendment

Thursday, March 14, 2019

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On March 13th, the Iowa state Senate voted 33-16 to pass Senate Joint Resolution 18 to propose an amendment to the state Constitution affirming and recognizing the right of Iowans’ to keep and bear arms as a fundamental individual right. Later the same day, the state House of Representatives voted 53-46 to concur. While this important amendment will not appear on the ballot until 2022, there are still two pieces of critical, pro-gun legislation that can be heard and enacted this year. Please contact your state Representative and urge them to SUPPORT HF 636 and HF 716. Click the “Take Action” button below to contact your state Representative.

Authored by Senator Brad Zaun (R-20), Senate Joint Resolution 18 will need to pass again during the 2021-2022 General Assembly before a constitutional amendment is put on the ballot for Iowa voters to decide in 2022. Currently, Iowa is one of six states that do not have a right to keep and bear arms amendment in its state Constitution, including California, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.

House File 636, introduced by Representative Matt Windschitl (R-17), would allow Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons (PCW) holders to go onto school grounds to pick up and drop off students without having to first unload and lock up their firearms in their vehicles. In addition, it would also prevent employers from prohibiting employees to store firearms in their locked personal vehicles while on the employer’s parking lot. So called “gun-freezones” are arbitrary boundaries that only disarm law-abiding citizens and leave them defenseless while doing nothing to affect criminals.

House File 716, introduced by Rep. Windschitl, would allow the use of traditional, “bottle-necked” rifle and pistol cartridges for hunting deer in Iowa, repealing the current restriction that only allows “straight-walled” cartridges. This would expand hunting opportunities by allowing hunters to use commonly-owned firearms chambered in modern calibers such as those that have been available to American consumers for over a century. In addition, HF 716 would ensure that hunting with handguns is protected throughout Iowa.

Your NRA would like to thank the lawmakers who voted in favor of SJR 18. Again, please click the “Take Action” button to contact your state Representative and urge them to SUPPORT HF 636 and HF 716.

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.